Solomon’s Request for Wisdom

1 Solomon son of David strengthened his hold on his kingdom.^(A) The Lord his God was with him and highly exalted him.^{(B) 2} Then Solomon spoke to all Israel, to the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, to the judges, and to every leader in all Israel—the family heads.^{(C) 3} Solomon and the whole assembly with him went to the high place that was in Gibeon^(D) because God’s tent of meeting, which the Lord’s servant Moses had made^(E) in the wilderness, was there. ⁴ Now David had brought the ark of God from Kiriath-jearim to the place^[a] he had set up for it, because he had pitched a tent for it in Jerusalem,^{(F) 5} but he put^[b] the bronze altar, which Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, had made,^(G) in front of the Lord’s tabernacle. Solomon and the assembly inquired of him^[c] there. ⁶ Solomon offered sacrifices there in the Lord’s presence on the bronze altar at the tent of meeting; he offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.^(H)

⁷ That night^(I) God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask. What should I give you?”

⁸ And Solomon said to God, “You have shown great and faithful love to my father David, and you have made me king in his place.^{(J) 9} Lord God, let your promise to my father David now come true.^(K) For you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth.^{(L) 10} Now grant me wisdom and knowledge so that I may lead these people,^(M) for who can judge this great people of yours?”

¹¹ God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart, and you have not requested riches, wealth, or glory, or for the life of those who hate you, and you have not even requested long life, but you have requested for yourself wisdom and knowledge that you may judge my people over whom I have made you king, ¹² wisdom and knowledge are given to you. I will also give you riches, wealth, and glory, unlike what was given to the kings who were before you, or will be given to those after you.”^{(N) 13} So Solomon went to Jerusalem from^[d] the high place that was in Gibeon in front of the tent of meeting, and he reigned over Israel.

Solomon’s Horses and Wealth

¹⁴ Solomon^(O) accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen,^(P) which he stationed in the chariot cities^(Q) and with the king in Jerusalem. ¹⁵ The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar as abundant as sycamore in the Judean foothills. ¹⁶ Solomon’s horses came from Egypt and Kue.^[e] The king’s traders would get them from Kue at the going price. ¹⁷ A chariot could be imported from Egypt for fifteen pounds^[f] of silver and a horse for nearly four pounds.^[g] In the same way, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram through their agents.

Solomon’s Letter to Hiram

2 Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself,^{(R) 2} so he assigned 70,000 men as porters, 80,000 men as stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 as supervisors over them.^(S)

³ Then Solomon sent word to King Hiram^[h](T) of Tyre:^(U)

Do for me what you did for my father David. You sent him cedars to build him a house to live in.^{(V) 4} Now I am building a temple for the name of the Lord my God in order to dedicate it to him for burning fragrant incense before him,^(W) for displaying the rows of the Bread of the Presence continuously,^(X) and for sacrificing burnt offerings for the morning and the evening,^(Y) the Sabbaths^(Z) and the New Moons, and the appointed festivals of the Lord our God. This is ordained for Israel permanently. ⁵ The temple that I am building will be great, for our God is greater than any of the gods.^{(AA) 6} But who is able to build a temple for him, since even heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain him?^(AB) Who am I then that I should build a temple for him except as a place to burn incense before him? ⁷ Therefore, send me an artisan who is skilled in engraving to work with gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and with purple, crimson, and blue yarn. He will work with the artisans who are with me in Judah and Jerusalem,^(AC) appointed by my father David.^{(AD) 8} Also, send me cedar, cypress, and algum^[i](AE) logs from Lebanon, for I know that your servants know how to cut the trees of Lebanon. Note that my servants will be with your servants^{(AF) 9} to prepare logs for me in abundance because the temple I am building will be great and wondrous. ¹⁰ I will give your servants, the woodcutters who cut the trees, one hundred twenty thousand bushels^[j] of wheat flour, one hundred twenty thousand bushels of barley, one hundred twenty thousand gallons^[k] of wine, and one hundred twenty thousand gallons of oil.

Hiram’s Reply

¹¹ Then King Hiram of Tyre wrote a letter^[l] and sent it to Solomon:

Because the Lord loves his people, he set you over them as king.^(AG)

¹² Hiram also said:

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made the heavens and the earth!^(AH) He gave King David a wise son with insight and understanding,^(AI) who will build a temple for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.^{(AJ) 13} I have now sent Huram-abi,^[m] a skillful man who has understanding.^{(AK) 14} He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan. His father is a man of Tyre. He knows how to work with gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, with purple, blue, crimson yarn, and fine linen. He knows how to do all kinds of engraving and to execute any design that may be given him. I have sent him to be with your artisans and the artisans of my lord, your father David. ¹⁵ Now, let my lord send the wheat, barley, oil, and wine to his servants as promised.^{(AL) 16} We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and bring them to you as rafts by sea to Joppa. You can then take them up to Jerusalem.^(AM)

Solomon’s Workforce

¹⁷ Solomon took a census of all the resident alien men in the land of Israel, after the census that his father David had conducted,^(AN) and the total was 153,600. ¹⁸ Solomon made 70,000 of them porters, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors to make the people work.^(AO)

Building the Temple

3 Then Solomon began^(AP) to build the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah^(AQ) where the Lord^[n] had appeared to his father David, at the site David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan^[o] the Jebusite. ² He began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign. ³ These are Solomon’s foundations^[p] for building God’s temple: the length^[q] was ninety feet,^[r] and the width thirty feet.^{[s] 4} The portico, which was across the front extending across the width of the temple, was thirty feet wide; its height was thirty feet;^[t] he overlaid its inner surface with pure gold. ⁵ The larger room^[u] he paneled with cypress wood, overlaid with fine gold, and decorated with palm trees and chains. ⁶ He adorned the temple with precious stones for beauty, and the gold was the gold of Parvaim. ⁷ He overlaid the temple—the beams, the thresholds, its walls and doors—with gold,^(AR) and he carved cherubim on the walls.^(AS)

The Most Holy Place

⁸ Then he made the most holy place; its length corresponded to the width of the temple, 30 feet, and its width was 30 feet.^(AT) He overlaid it with forty-five thousand pounds^[v] of fine gold. ⁹ The weight of the nails was twenty ounces^[w] of gold, and he overlaid the ceiling with gold.

¹⁰ He made^(AU) two cherubim of sculptured work, for the most holy place, and he overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ The overall length of the wings of the cherubim was 30 feet: the wing of one was 7½ feet,^[x] touching the wall of the room; its other wing was 7½ feet, touching the wing of the other cherub. ¹² The wing of the other^[y] cherub was 7½ feet, touching the wall of the room; its other wing was 7½ feet, reaching the wing of the other cherub. ¹³ The wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet. They stood on their feet and faced the larger room.^[z]

¹⁴ He made the curtain of blue, purple, and crimson yarn and fine linen, and he wove cherubim into it.^(AV)

The Bronze Pillars

¹⁵ In front of the temple^(AW) he made two pillars, each 27 feet^[aa] high. The capital on top of each was 7½ feet high. ¹⁶ He had made chainwork in the inner sanctuary and also put it on top of the pillars.^(AX) He made a hundred pomegranates and fastened them into the chainwork. ¹⁷ Then he set up the pillars in front of the sanctuary, one on the right and one on the left. He named the one on the right Jachin^[ab] and the one on the left Boaz.^[ac]

The New Life in Christ

6 What should we say then?^(A) Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply?^{(B) 2} Absolutely not!^(C) How can we who died to sin^(D) still live in it? ³ Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized^(E) into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?^{(F) 4} Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death,^(G) in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead^(H) by the glory of the Father,^(I) so we too may walk in newness^[a] of life.^{(J) 5} For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death,^(K) we will certainly also be^[b] in the likeness of his resurrection. ⁶ For we know that our old self^[c](L) was crucified with him^(M) so that the body ruled by sin^[d] might be rendered powerless^(N) so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, ⁷ since a person who has died^(O) is freed^[e] from sin. ⁸ Now if we died with Christ,^(P) we believe that we will also live with him, ⁹ because we know that Christ, having been raised from the dead,^(Q) will not die again. Death no longer rules over him.^{(R) 10} For the death he died, he died to sin once for all time; but the life he lives, he lives to God. ¹¹ So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin^(S) and alive to God in Christ Jesus.^[f]

¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey^[g] its desires. ¹³ And do not offer any parts^[h] of it to sin^(T) as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God,^(U) and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law^(V) but under grace.^(W)

From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God

¹⁵ What then? Should we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?^(X) Absolutely not!^{(Y) 16} Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone^[i] as obedient slaves,^(Z) you are slaves of that one you obey^(AA)—either of sin leading to death^(AB) or of obedience leading to righteousness? ¹⁷ But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin,^(AC) you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were handed^[j] over,^{(AD) 18} and having been set free from sin,^(AE) you became enslaved to righteousness. ¹⁹ I am using a human analogy^(AF) because of the weakness of your flesh.^[k] For just as you offered the parts of yourselves as slaves to impurity, and to greater and greater lawlessness, so now offer them as slaves to righteousness, which results in sanctification. ²⁰ For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.^{[l](AG) 21} So what fruit was produced^[m] then from the things you are now ashamed of?^(AH) The outcome of those things is death.^{(AI) 22} But now, since you have been set free from sin and have become enslaved to God,^(AJ) you have your fruit, which results in sanctification^(AK)—and the outcome is eternal life!^{(AL) 23} For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.^(AM)

Psalm 16

Confidence in the Lord

A Miktam of David.^(A)